On loving and not loving what you do
Oh, hi friends!
A friend said something to me the other day that I can't stop thinking about. We were emailing about 1099s—the tax income forms every freelancer or contractor receives from every client they worked with. Last year I had 18!
She said, despite the headaches of tracking them down "at least we love what we do."
And I thought: Do I? Love what I do? Did I love all 18 of those clients and assignments? Or did I love the money? Do I love the work that didn’t come with a 1099? The unpaid rehearsals or the songs or the drafts of this newsletter? And I’m not sure I think about any of my work like that.
But that's how we are conditioned to think about our "dream jobs." Or our "passions." Or "side projects." None of it is supposed to feel like work. We're supposed to love it. Unconditional, rom-com level love. And that's just not realistic.
When love is our benchmark, of course it's easy to feel disappointed.
Here are other words that feel more accurate:
I am committed to my work.
I'm also grateful, inspired, frustrated, indebted, amazed, annoyed, and a hundred other emotions.
You have your own words. It's OK if love isn't one of them. And it's OK if it is.
This is my 500th Brass Ring Daily, by the way. Yay! How many have I loved? I couldn’t tell you. Yet here they are—existing, proof of daily effort. And maybe that’s what I love most of all.
What kind of monster could eat this?
(Me.)
Photo by Buenosia Carol from Pexels
“When we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy becomes foreboding.”
Vulnerability is a muscle. Is yours cranky? From Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday podcast with Brene Brown. Listen in here. (h/t Tari Ayala)
An aspiring singer-songwriter wakes up one day in a world in which The Beatles never existed. What does he do? Copies all their songs and gets incredibly famous, of course! What a charming trailer for the film Yesterday, out in June, and written by my fave Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually). Can’t wait for this!
Calling All Writers!
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The site is led by Steve Koepp, the brain behind the Brooklyn news site The Bridge and who sits squarely in my Editor Hall of Fame. You will be grateful to work with him!
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara